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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I don't understand the obsession on this board with taking Cal by 10th grade. I was always good at math, but I didn't take calculus until I was a senior in high school. And I got into an ivy league school where I graduated with honors. My kids are younger so I'm sure there's plenty to say about DC middle schools and high schools that I don't understand, but I truly don't understand why this is something people harp on here.[/quote]

Once your kids are older you will understand. [/quote]

+1.  Math 20 years ago is nothing like math today.  Cal in 12 th then was advance, not so today.
Same with college admittance.  If you are going to any decent school at all for math, engineering, science, etc you only get to Cal by senior year, you are at the bottom. it’s a basic requirement.  Other kids will be ahead and taking it easy in college while you will not.

The end. [/quote]
A good friend teaches physics at a school DCUM loves. He says very many of the kids who have been pushed into acceleration have no idea how to use calculus as a tool to solve problems.   They have kids withdraw from physics classes and retake calculus, then do the major requirements a year late. It’s a real problem.  [/quote]

[b]Two things are true here. Calc, and an Ap  Calc score, are almost a prerequisite to top college admissions[/b]. It’s a good filter.

The other thing is that AP Calc is a pretty impoverished experience of calculus that doesn’t do a good job of preparing you to do real math in college. [/quote]

I work in college admissions so I know that the statement above is out of date. In fact, even colleges admitting in the single digits and teens ("Ivy Plus" and top 10 SLACs) have been steadily deemphasizing AP Calc in admissions for applicants who aren't engineering-oriented in the past decade. Admissions officers are increasingly happy with AP Stats instead, or a pass in IB Diploma Standard Level mixed math as long as an applicant is strong subject that line up with their likely intended major/concentration. If you doubt this, do a search. It's true. [/quote]

Correct.[/quote]

This is bad advice.  If your kid has to take Calculus as a core requirement in college, they should definitely take AP Calculus.

The Cal in college moves fast and overwhelming majority of kids have taken AP calculus and can keep up.  Your kid will struggle.

If they don’t have to take any Calculus then it’s not an issue.  But we all know that the discussion here is about advance math and the kids who will likely be going into a STEM major.

[/quote]

Why would kids who took calculus in high school retake the same course in college?[/quote]

They did not get a 4 or 5 on AP exam to get out of it.  It’s a core requirement in lots of schools

[/quote]

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